This invention relates to labels and forms, including business or postal forms which are used with non-impact printers, for example, laser printers. Many types of specialized business forms are made of a porous paper or other relatively porous printable material, e.g., acetate, for use with non-impact printers such as laser printing devices. Adhesive and adhesive-release (e.g., silicon) are typical, if not required, components of pressure-sensitive mailing form or label products.
A common problem with such forms is that after passing the form through the printing device to imprint variable information, the print toner fails to properly bond to the form and can flake away or is easily removed from the surface of the form when manipulated by a user. This problem is especially prominent when the form is a peel-off label wherein the label is bent or otherwise manipulated to be peeled away from a backing substrate to expose adhesive.
It is perceived that the flaking of print toner, e.g., a xerographic toner which can comprise a granulated thermoplastic having a magnetic component formulated therein, results from the toner being improperly affixed or fused to the paper or other substrate material used in pressure-sensitive products, even after being heat-fixed by conventional printer processing. This improper fusion results from the adhesive and/or adhesive-release material disposed onto the surface of the substrate conducting heat away from any area on which it is applied. Thus, the toner cannot be properly heat-fixed onto the substrate. In addition, the toner may be prevented from absorbing into the pores or adsorbing onto the substrate where adhesive and adhesive-release are applied, and is thereby prevented from properly fusing to the substrate in a way that provides for substantially permanent bonding.
Thus, what is needed in the art is a label or other business mailing form which provides a print surface which substantially eliminates improper bonding or fusion of print toner, e.g., laser xerographic or thermoplastic print toner, and which can thereby prevent flaking or easy removal of the toner from the substrate surface following printing and heat-fixing.